Feds To Hold Off In Ex-seal's Case

NORFOLK — The federal government will likely wait until the state's weapon charges against a former Navy SEAL take their course before it moves forward with its own case, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday.

No date has been set for the trial of ex-SEAL Elbert Tillman Jr., because the federal government is "waiting to see what happens with the state charges," said spokeswoman Deanna Warren.

A U.S. District Court judge released Tillman, 35, on a $50,000 bond late Friday. He's facing two federal charges - possession of firearms and explosives while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance and possessing firearms not registered to him - for allegedly keeping a stash of weapons and steroids in his Chuckatuck home.

He's also facing local charges of manufacturing and possessing explosive materials, along with various misdemeanor violations of Suffolk's fire code.

Investigators found C-4, plastic explosives, detonators and a Claymore mine along with dozens of other weapons during a search of Tillman's home last month.

His attorney, Sonny Stallings, said Tillman was never asked to return the weapons when he left the Navy.